Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière Rosé 2020Chateau de Pibarnon Bandol Rosé 2020
From a two-hectare plot planted for this purpose 30 years ago, Mellot crafts one of France’s more profound examples of the rosé genre. 100% Biodynamic Pinot Noir from one of the great terroirs of the Loire Valley, this is considerably more intense and vinous than most of its peers. The grapes were pressed very slowly and only the free run juice used. The wine was vinified in both concrete cuve (for cut) and large conical wooded vats (for texture—of which this beautiful wine has in spades).
Pibarnon’s distinctive, organic, 60:40 Mourvèdre and Cinsault blend was drawn from the estate’s stunning amphitheatre of terraces set amid the pine-covered hilltop of La Colline du Télégraphe. This is Bandol’s highest vineyard (at 300 metres above the Baie de Bandol) and it enjoys the freshness and cool nights of the altitude as well as the moderating sea breezes. It’s not only the elevation and proximity to the sea that makes this vineyard so special. A peculiar soil type predominates, les marnes bleues; this uncommon and highly chalky, blue-tinted clay, rich in microfossils, is prized for its low pH, water-retentive properties and its influence on a wine’s freshness and structure.